AVONDALE, Ariz. _  NASCAR fans could know more about Danica Patrick and the new Gen-6 car Sunday during the season’s second race on the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway.

But it might not be until the third (Las Vegas) and fourth (Bristol, Tenn.) races of the season that drivers, crews and fans can take full measure of where Patrick is on the learning curve and how good a racecar is NASCAR’s latest design.

“Phoenix will give us some new information about the Gen-6 car,” El Cajon’s Jimmie Johnson said earlier in the week after winning his second Daytona 500.

“There’s not a lot you can do to make adjustments to a car for Daytona,” Johnson continued. “You are running flat out. The way the lines formed there, you were being pulled along unless you were in the lead.

“The Gen-6 car is a downforce car. We’ll see teams refining it over the next month.”

The Gen-6 design still won’t be at its optimum for Sunday’s Fresh Fit 500 (noon, Channel 5). The one-mile Phoenix oval was tweaked and repaved last year. A second groove hasn’t been fully developed.

Drivers and crews don’t believe the strengths of the Gen-6 design will be maximized until the following weeks and the races at Las Vegas, Dover and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

“We’re going to really see what it can do when we get to a downforce track like Las Vegas,” said Tony Stewart.

Although it wasn’t apparent in the Daytona 500, when most of the race turned into a follow-the-leader parade with a long line running wide-out in the top groove, the Gen-6 car was designed to enhance side-by-side racing and duels for the lead.

“When it’s dialed in, this car should produce a lot of side drafting,” said Johnson. “We saw a little of that late at Daytona. But when fully developed, I think this car is going to be a lot more demanding on the driver. It’s going to be looser in the corners.”

That could work against Patrick, who finished eighth with a strong run in the Daytona 500 after winning the pole.

Patrick’s strength is long runs on fast tracks – like Daytona and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- while away from traffic. She struggled in traffic last season as a rookie on NASCAR’s second-echelon Nationwide Series.

The longer it takes for crew chiefs to dial in the Gen-6 car as a side-by-side racer, the better it might be for Sprint Cup rookie Patrick, who is looking for a top 15 finish at PIR after qualifying 40th.

Johnson qualified third with Mark Martin winning the pole. The 54-year-old Martin will be seeking to surpass Harry Gant as the oldest driver ever to win a Sprint Cup race.